For the purposes of this list, a "franchise" is defined as a mainstay Marvel property that has existed in various forms over the years. Though this list mainly focuses on actual comic books, the quality of the characters' use in other media — movies, television, games, toys — was taken into consideration. Longevity, cultural impact, and consistency of quality were key factors in determining the rankings on this list. Some characters who are enjoying a renaissance these days are rated a bit lower because they weren't always good — or even notable — franchises. Maybe someday they'll be ranked higher.

New Warriors

The New Warriors are like a store-brand superhero team comprised of drab, knock-off characters. They started out as ostensibly a junior team of Avengers, but they have no particular mission or reason to exist. The team has been rebooted a few times over and somehow only becomes more bland and forgettable with each new iteration. Today they're best known as the idiot superheroes who caused the disaster that served as the inciting incident of Civil War.

Marvel

Nova

A lot of characters have been Nova over the years, and all of them have been bland and generic. The Nova Corps is basically just Marvel's blatant ripoff of DC's Green Lantern Corps, and frankly, you're better off just buying actual Green Lantern comics.

Ed McGuinness/Marvel

Ghost Rider

There is no denying that there is a lot of appeal in the image of a guy with a flaming skull riding around on a motorcycle and whipping a chain around. It's just that this has rarely, if ever, translated into actually good stories.

]]>Matthew Perpetuahttps://www.buzzfeed.com/perpetua/marvel-franchises-ranked-from-worst-to-bestThu, 13 Aug 2015 15:22:39 -0400Face front, true believers.perpetuanonadultFor the purposes of this list, a "franchise" is defined as a mainstay Marvel property that has existed in various forms over the years. Though this list mainly focuses on actual comic books, the quality of the characters' use in other media — movies, television, games, toys — was taken into consideration. Longevity, cultural impact, and consistency of quality were key factors in determining the rankings on this list. Some characters who are enjoying a renaissance these days are rated a bit lower because they weren't always good — or even notable — franchises. Maybe someday they'll be ranked higher.nonadultThe New Warriors are like a store-brand superhero team comprised of drab, knock-off characters. They started out as ostensibly a junior team of Avengers, but they have no particular mission or reason to exist. The team has been rebooted a few times over and somehow only becomes more bland and forgettable with each new iteration. Today they're best known as the idiot superheroes who caused the disaster that served as the inciting incident of <i>Civil War</i>.nonadultA lot of characters have been Nova over the years, and all of them have been bland and generic. The Nova Corps is basically just Marvel's blatant ripoff of DC's Green Lantern Corps, and frankly, you're better off just buying actual Green Lantern comics.nonadultThere is no denying that there is a lot of appeal in the image of a guy with a flaming skull riding around on a motorcycle and whipping a chain around. It's just that this has rarely, if ever, translated into actually good stories.nonadultThe original iteration of Exiles by Judd Winick and Mike McKone gave readers the chance to explore parallel realities and divergent timelines with alternate versions of characters from the Marvel universe, but ultimately the series didn't have a lot more to offer than fan service for hardcore Marvel nerds. Subsequent attempts to revive the title haven't really worked out.nonadultVenom started off as a Spider-Man villain in the late '80s but was so wildly popular that Marvel decided to spin him off into solo comics by the early '90s. This inevitably led to writers diluting his psycho-killer appeal by turning him into more of an antihero. The current version of Venom is another character entirely — former Spider-Man bully Flash Thompson — and is now a soldier who uses his symbiote costume at the service of the U.S. military. So yes, Marvel managed to turn one of Spider-Man's most iconic villains into a blah G.I. Joe version of Spidey himself. Great work, guys.nonadultJust as Nova is Marvel's version of Green Lantern, Moon Knight is basically its ersatz, quasi-mystical take on Batman. Bill Sienkiewicz did some truly amazing and groundbreaking work with the character in the early '80s, and as a result, he's a sentimental favorite of a lot of people who came of age in that era. The character has been rebooted and relaunched several times over, but it's never really worked. Just go buy a Batman comic book, OK?nonadultThe Defenders works best when creators embrace the group's lack of chemistry and present them as a "non-team" of individualistic weirdos. That's a great premise, and hopefully that idea will be the one thing that carries over to the Netflix version of <i>The Defenders</i> starring Daredevil, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and Jessica Jones. That said, a majority of Defenders comics — especially post-'70s incarnations of the team — have been kinda pointless and full of rando characters no one particularly cares about.nonadultGambit, unlike most members of the X-Men, kinda makes sense as a solo character — he's something of a loner, and his background as a thief and a louche ladies man is a good setup for heist-centric stories. But despite this, Gambit solo comics have always been sort of mediocre. Sorry, mon ami.nonadultNamor's extreme arrogance and dubious morality make him an amazing character in a group context, whether he's sparring with the Fantastic Four or a member of the Avengers or X-Men, but he's a tough sell on his own. He's just better as a foil to straight-arrow characters like Reed Richards, Captain America, Black Panther, and Cyclops.nonadultBlack Widow has only occasionally been featured as a solo character over the years, but her current series by Nathan Edmondson and Phil Noto is a step in the right direction for a character whose popularity has exploded in recent years thanks to the <i>Avengers</i> movies. It seems likely that Black Widow will one day be a much bigger franchise, but for now, it's still fairly minor.nonadultThe Inhumans are great on a conceptual level — they're basically a secret society of half-alien weirdos who became their "true selves" when exposed to a special mutagenic mist as teenagers. For whatever reason, the classic version of the Inhumans has always been a nonstarter for Marvel, despite a critically acclaimed maxiseries by Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee in the late '90s. Marvel has been pushing the Inhumans very hard in the recent past, mainly because a movie based on the characters is due at the end of this decade. Unfortunately, the current iteration of the Inhumans is a lot less interesting — the ritualistic application of the mist has been ditched in favor of the mist just floating around the world, turning random people with secret Inhuman lineage into superpowered freaks. This has essentially transformed Inhumans into an off-brand version of mutants, but weighed down with the baggage of a complicated royal family and a bunch of ultra-bland new characters. It's hard to imagine that Marvel can ever "replace" the X-Men with this bunch of randos, but it looks like they'll keep trying to make "fetch" happen for at least another five or six years.nonadultLuke Cage has been a mainstay of the Marvel Universe since the '70s, but he's been rebooted and repackaged many times over. He's been a goofy blaxploitation superhero in a yellow blouse, a partner of Iron Fist, a Hero for Hire, and the leader of street-level teams of Avengers. He's a great and perennially underrated character, but has yet to star in a truly iconic solo series. It's about time for this to actually happen, especially since he'll have his own Netflix series soon.nonadultIron Fist has always been something of a C-list character, but has attracted a lot of top talent over the years, from Chris Claremont and John Byrne in the '70s to Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, and David Aja in the '00s. Still, even the best Iron Fist comics are kinda just generic kung fu stories in superhero drag.nonadultThunderbolts has been rebooted a few times over, often with radically different casts of characters, but the core premise has been mostly the same each time around: They're a bunch of bad guys (or antiheroes) posing as legit superheroes. It's a strong concept, but it's been sort of hit or miss in execution aside from Kurt Busiek's original run in the '90s and Warren Ellis's relaunch in the mid-'00s.nonadultAlpha Flight are mostly treated like a punchline these days — haw haw, Canadian superheroes! — but the original run of Alpha Flight comics in the '80s by team co-creator John Byrne were actually pretty good. Later versions of Alpha Flight are either rebooted to the point of barely resembling the original group or overly nostalgic for the Byrne era. The one thing all Alpha Flight comics have in common is portraying the Canadian government as being somehow a lot more sinister than the American government, which is...kinda weird.nonadultThere have been a lot of very different series starring Nick Fury and/or S.H.I.E.L.D. over the years, and most have been...just OK? The major outliers are Jonathan Hickman and Dustin Weaver's truly odd <i>S.H.I.E.LD.</i> series about the secret history of the Marvel Universe starring Leonardo da Vinci and Sir Isaac Newton, and Jim Steranko's groundbreaking op art comics from the '60s.nonadultThe original version of Excalibur by Chris Claremont and Alan Davis is a cult classic, and added a much-needed touch of whimsy to the rather grim X-Men line of the late '80s and early '90s. The original series was basically a mash-up of Claremont's X-Men and the Captain Britain characters he created for Marvel U.K., but subsequent iterations of Excalibur have more or less abandoned all that in favor of featuring a team of random X-characters living in England. (That said, Claremont himself wrote a totally unrelated and highly forgettable relaunch in the '00s in which Charles Xavier and Magneto teamed up to help salvage the remnants of war-ravaged Genosha.) It's pretty unlikely that we'll ever see another good Excalibur series, but hey, that original run was terrific.nonadultThe Silver Surfer is one of the most striking and iconic characters created by Jack Kirby, which is really saying something. There are a lot of awesome things about the character, but his appeal as a solo star greatly depends on your tolerance for incessant angst and existential pondering.nonadultThere's been a lot of characters called Captain Marvel throughout Marvel's history, but Carol Danvers has become the most iconic version, and the one who will be featured in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the near future. So really, when we're talking about Captain Marvel, we're really talking about Danvers, and so we're factoring in all her solo series as Ms. Marvel over the years. Marvel's attempts to position Danvers as its answer to Wonder Woman has been a bit obvious, but it's also very welcome.nonadultDoctor Strange is a legitimately weird superhero — he's significantly older than most other heroes, has a vibe of aloofness, and mainly goes off on odd psychedelic adventures. He's never been able to support a long-running solo series, but those comics tend to be pretty good, and he's still one of Marvel's most underrated properties.nonadultHawkeye was rarely featured on his own until Matt Fraction and David Aja's formally inventive and character-redefining solo series launched in 2012. The creative torch was recently passed on to Jeff Lemire and Ramon Perez, and it looks like the series is on its way to becoming Marvel's prestige showcase for offbeat creators.nonadultCable is as '90s as superheroes get — he was created by Rob Liefeld, he's the time-displaced psychic cyborg son of Cyclops from the X-Men, he's ultra gritty, and is always carrying enormous guns. Cable should not work, and yet he does. Many writers and artists have worked hard to turn Cable into a complex and interesting character over the years, and the odds of any given Cable solo comic being good are actually pretty high.nonadultThe Punisher is kind of a one-note character — he's basically just a maniac vigilante who just goes around straight-up murdering criminals — but he's inspired a lot of solid comics over the years. The character is definitely a lot better when written with a lot of dark humor, and not so great when played as a disturbing gun-nut revenge fantasy.nonadultThere's not nearly enough solo Black Panther comics, but the ones that exist — particularly those written by Christopher Priest — have been very good. But now that Black Panther is headed to the big screen, it looks like the character is going to be more of a priority for Marvel going forward, which bodes well for fans of T'Challa and the people of Wakanda.nonadultThe original Runaways series by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona is wonderful, and has a brilliant high concept — they're a bunch of kids who find out their parents are a team of supervillains. (It's worth noting that the main cast is very diverse, and broke a lot of ground in terms of LGBT representation in the mainstream Marvel Universe.) Unlike most Marvel stories, Vaughan's run is pretty much a complete story, and subsequent writers — including Joss Whedon — have struggled to give the characters a sense of direction and purpose. But oh man, that original series!nonadultX-Factor has been a lot of very different things — the five original X-Men, a government-sponsored superhero team, a detective agency, and a superhero team owned and controlled by the Marvel version of Google. But it's mostly been a showcase for writer Peter David, who has written the vast majority of comics using this title. No matter what the premise is, David's X-Factors showcase his witty storytelling and his penchant for adding depth and nuance to cast-aside characters from the X-Men corner of the Marvel Universe.nonadultThe Guardians of the Galaxy have been a lot of things over the decades, but have only recently taken the form you might recognize from the hugely popular movie. The earlier iterations of the Guardians were not so good and at best were like off-brand versions of DC's Legion of Super Heroes, but the contemporary version is pretty great. All of Marvel's current Guardians series are good, fun comics, and the franchise is a welcome addition to the line. Also, this is a case where the movie version significantly boosts the ranking of the overall franchise.nonadultShe-Hulk may have been created for copyright reasons, but she's evolved into an essential character in the Marvel Universe. A lot of the reason for this is that her civilian life as a lawyer is often at the center of her solo adventures, and that John Byrne's decision to write her book as a screwball comedy has been kept up by subsequent writers like Dan Slott and Charles Soule. In other words, She-Hulk is a hit superhero legal dramedy waiting to happen. Netflix, get on this.nonadultDeadpool started off as a bit character in Rob Liefeld's <i>New Mutants</i> and <i>X-Force</i> comics in the early '90s, but has evolved into something sort of strange and unique — a self-aware, hyperviolent, and amoral Bugs Bunny for the Marvel Universe who is beloved by a rabid cult audience. Deadpool comics are typically played as straight-up comedy, but plenty of writers have found ways to seriously explore the character's tragic background and his shaky grip on sanity.nonadultX-Force has existed in several incarnations, but almost every version is basically just "X-Men, but waaay more violent and badass." The franchise has aged surprisingly well over the past two decades, evolving into a thoughtful meditation on the futility of violence during Rick Remender's <i>Uncanny X-Force</i> epic, and becoming a space where writers can reinvent X-Men mainstays like Psylocke, Fantomex, Domino, Bishop, Archangel, and X-23.nonadultThe original version of New Mutants written by Chris Claremont and Louise Simonson in the '80s was excellent and way ahead of its time in many ways — its emphasis on diversity, the maturity of its tone despite being a book about teenagers, and the paradigm-busting artwork by Bill Sienkiewicz, Arthur Adams, and the controversial but undeniably revolutionary Rob Liefeld. Characters like Cannonball, Sunspot, and Magik have gone on to become iconic mainstays of the Marvel Universe, and the series' legacy extends from a strong revival of the title by Zeb Wells in the '00s to <i>Generation X</i>, <i>New X-Men</i>, and every other comic focused on the students of the X-Men.nonadultIt's still sort of strange that while Marvel's brand has always been about relatable heroes, one of its most prominent characters since the beginning has been a straight-up god who walks among mortals. But it works, both in terms of the character playing off all the other superheroes in amusing ways, and how Jack Kirby's sci-fi reimagining of Norse mythology has given creators like Walt Simonson, Matt Fraction, and Jason Aaron an opportunity to do over-the-top fantasy stories set in the Marvel Universe. Also, it's worth nothing that Thor's half-brother Loki is one of Marvel's best villains, and arguably the best thing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe.nonadultThe Hulk is basically Marvel's version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but with a bright green unstoppable rage monster. Hulk comics can be a bit hit or miss in terms of quality, but Peter David's long, celebrated run on the book in the '80s and '90s explored the psychological complexities of both Bruce Banner and the Hulk in depth, and opened up the possibilities of what Hulk stories can be for future creators like Greg Pak, Mark Waid, and <i>Avengers</i> writer-director Joss Whedon. But that aside, Hulk is easily one of Marvel's most iconic and recognizable characters, to the point that most people can use the phrase "Hulk out" without even seeming particularly geeky.nonadultThe concept of the Avengers is extremely simple — a bunch of superheroes get together to fight huge threats. But since there's nothing more to the Avengers than that, the quality of Avengers comics depends greatly on whether the team is composed of Marvel's biggest heroes, or just a bunch of randos. So while there are plenty of great Avengers comics from over the years, there are also a lot of loooooong stretches where the book is just incredibly lame, and the characters seemed incredibly dorky in comparison to the X-Men. Things are much better now thanks to the efforts of Brian Michael Bendis, Jonathan Hickman, Rick Remender, and Joss Whedon, but the franchise is still dragged down by those terrible '80s and '90s comics.nonadultWolverine is the best there is at what he does, and what he does is make team dynamics more exciting. But he's pretty great on his own too, particularly when creators run with noble samurai vibe set by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller in the very first solo Wolverine miniseries in 1982. Wolverine is undeniably one of Marvel's best and most iconic characters, and his impact on Marvel and pop culture in general has been enormous. Also, it's worth noting that while the Wolverine movies haven't been great and the X-Men film franchise is uneven, Hugh Jackman's performances in those movies have been fantastic, and brought the character to life on screen in a way that many old fans never thought would be possible.nonadultCaptain America has a reputation as something of a square, but Captain America comics have a history of being pretty cool, and sometimes totally strange. Many excellent creators have worked on Cap over the years, but none of them can match Ed Brubaker's long run in the '00s in which he and collaborators like Steve Epting and Jackson Guice emphasized spy thriller intrigue and reintroduced Bucky Barnes as the Winter Soldier. Brubaker's influence is all over the Captain America film series, and Bucky has become so popular that he's likely to become Captain America in the movies just as he did in the comics. Bucky isn't the only option, though — the current comics Cap is Sam "Falcon" Wilson, and it looks like he'll keep the title for a long time to come.nonadultThere was a time when Iron Man wasn't one of Marvel's most famous characters, but that's pretty far in the past now. Robert Downey Jr.'s portrayal of Tony Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has turned Marvel as a whole into a bigger cultural force than ever before, and elevated the character to a level of popularity eclipsed only by the likes of Batman, Spider-Man, and Wolverine. But as important as Downey is Iron Man's popularity, his characterization is built on the work of many great Marvel writers, including David Michelinie, Warren Ellis, Mark Millar, and Matt Fraction. Iron Man has become a central figure in the Marvel Universe since the mid-'00s, and that is unlikely to ever change.nonadultDon't be fooled by the horrendous film adaptations — Fantastic Four is one of Marvel's greatest franchises, and always has been. The central concept of them being a family of explorers is one of the best ideas for a superhero comic of all time, and their primary nemesis, Doctor Doom, is one of the greatest villains in the history of comics. There's a fundamental optimism and faith in science and family that may seem corny to some people today, but those are features and not bugs. While there have been a lot of lackluster Fantastic Four comics over the years, the original run by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee is the foundation on which the rest of the Marvel Universe was built, and was consistently the most innovative superhero comic of the '60s. Later runs by John Byrne, Mark Waid, Mark Millar, and Jonathan Hickman have maintained the series' legacy of imaginative sci-fi storytelling, with Hickman in particular finding way to reinvent the characters for contemporary audiences without straying from the characters' essential appeal.nonadultDaredevil was a fairly minor Marvel property through the '60s and '70s, but became a critical darling during Frank Miller's groundbreaking run on the book in the '80s. Ever since then, Daredevil has become a showcase for some of Marvel's most talented and distinctive creators — David Mazzucchelli, Ann Nocenti, John Romita, Jr., Joe Quesada, Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev, Ed Brubaker, Mark Waid, Paolo Rivera, Chris Samnee. The movie adaptation starring Ben Affleck may have been total junk, but the Netflix series featuring Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio belongs to the long lineage of quality Daredevil storytelling.nonadultSpider-Man has been Marvel's most famous and widely beloved hero since more or less the very beginning, and has been adapted into other media more than any other Marvel character. Spidey's underdog status and sarcastic wit revolutionized the superhero genre, and his mantra "with great power comes great responsibility" has become a guiding principle for millions of people. Peter Parker may always be the most famous version of Spider-Man, but other variations on the character like Spider-Girl, Spider-Gwen, and especially the biracial Miles Morales have extended the Spider-brand to be more inclusive and resonant than ever.nonadultThe X-Men are the best superheroes of all time. They just are. The central premise of mutants being hated and feared by the world isolates one of the most resonant elements of the Spider-Man mythos and expands it into a powerful metaphor for anyone who feels marginalized and unfairly maligned by society. The franchise features a majority of the very best characters in the Marvel cannon — Wolverine, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Storm, Magneto, Nightcrawler, Rogue, Beast, Colossus, Kitty Pryde, Mystique, Charles Xavier, and Emma Frost, just to name a few — and their stories have been told by the very best creators in the history of superhero comics. Chris Claremont, John Byrne, Paul Smith, Arthur Adams, Barry Windsor-Smith, Alan Davis, Marc Silvestri, Jim Lee, Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, Joss Whedon, John Cassaday, Matt Fraction, Terry Dodson, Kieron Gillen, Brian Michael Bendis, Stuart Immonen, Chris Bachalo — again, that's just to name a <i>few</i>. The franchise has always been progressive, and Claremont in particular was waaaay ahead of the curve in terms of promoting diversity and developing a deep bench of strong, nuanced female cast members. Also, unlike a lot of other superhero franchises, the <i>X-Men</i> franchise is built to constantly change and evolve, so it's always taking on interesting new forms while other characters feel old-fashioned or stagnant.nonadult11 Comics That Won 2014https://www.buzzfeed.com/kmallikarjuna/comics-that-won-2014?utm_term=4ldqpia
*pull list intensifies*

What It's About: A homeless orphan is recruited into a high school for assassins. Also it's the late '80s and there's a lot of drugs, dismemberment, and surprising friendships.

Why It Won 2014: Other than featuring one of the most gorgeous and terrifying drug trip sequences I've ever seen, Deadly Class works hard at grounding real teenagers and their fears in an extremely surreal and abruptly violent world.

What It's About: Twelve gods that are resurrected as pop stars every 90 years to live in infamy, scandal, and pure adoration for two years before they die and the cycle starts again.

Why It Won 2014: Like most Gillen/McKelvie projects, this whole comic is an unabashed love letter to pop culture and fandom. It's so aggressively fun and stylish that when you suddenly find yourself contemplating why we love what we love in the specific way we love it, you'll wonder what else you were missing when you were still in your pretentious "true art" phase.

What It's About: What Rocket (and Groot) do when they're not being Guardians of the Galaxy.

Why It Won 2014: Skottie Young literally made the cutest fucking comic I've ever read. Also there's major Rocket family feels and an entire issue told through Groot's eyes. Definitely a must read if you like Matt Fraction's Hawkeye.

]]>Krutika Mallikarjunahttps://www.buzzfeed.com/kmallikarjuna/comics-that-won-2014Mon, 22 Dec 2014 13:20:04 -0500<b>*pull list intensifies*</b>kmallikarjunanonadult(Sorry <i>Hawkeye, Sex Crims, Saga, Rat Queens, Federal Bureau of Physics, Letter 44, Red Sonja</i>, and <i>Captain Marvel</i>; please know I'm still deeply in love with all of you.)nonadult<b>What It's About:</b> A homeless orphan is recruited into a high school for assassins. Also it's the late '80s and there's a lot of drugs, dismemberment, and surprising friendships.
<b>Why It Won 2014:</b> Other than featuring one of the most gorgeous and terrifying drug trip sequences I've ever seen, <i>Deadly Class</i> works hard at grounding real teenagers and their fears in an extremely surreal and abruptly violent world.nonadult<b>What It's About:</b> Twelve gods that are resurrected as pop stars every 90 years to live in infamy, scandal, and pure adoration for two years before they die and the cycle starts again.
<b>Why It Won 2014:</b> Like most Gillen/McKelvie projects, this whole comic is an unabashed love letter to pop culture and fandom. It's so aggressively fun and stylish that when you suddenly find yourself contemplating why we love what we love in the specific way we love it, you'll wonder what else you were missing when you were still in your pretentious "true art" phase.nonadult<b>What It's About:</b> What Rocket (and Groot) do when they&#39;re not being Guardians of the Galaxy.
<b>Why It Won 2014:</b> Skottie Young literally made the cutest fucking comic I&#39;ve ever read. Also there&#39;s major Rocket family feels and an entire issue told through Groot&#39;s eyes. Definitely a must read if you like Matt Fraction&#39;s <i>Hawkeye</i>.nonadult<b>What It's About:</b> A patriarchy-smashing, trope-bending sci-fi romp through a women's prison correctional facility called Bitch Planet.
<b>Why It Won 2014:</b> Even though the first issue JUST came out, this comic already feels like a culmination of everything Kelly Sue DeConnick's been writing toward for the past few years. It's hilarity of "Hulk, go make me a sandwich," with the pain of "If you've been wronged, say her name, sing this song," and the absolute fucking fury of "It's Captain you little maggot," wrapped into a diverse cast that promises to explore a more intersectional vision of feminism. I really just cannot wait to be challenged by this girl gang.nonadult<b>What It's About:</b> A post-apocalyptic world where the human race has been forced to the bottom of Earth's vast oceans after the surface was irradiated. After hundreds of years exploring the galaxy, one probe finally returns with the location of a new habitable planet. But in the broken city of Salus where both time and air are running out, only one woman truly believes there's a future for the human race.
<b>Why It Won 2014:</b> Other then the truly astounding art that takes full advantage of its underwater playground, <i>Low</i> is a lush tale of a family falling apart and the impractically optimistic matriarch who claws them back together as she races to save humanity.nonadult<b>What It’s About:</b> Kamala Khan is just an average Muslim teenager in Jersey City until an * incident * that leaves her with shapeshifting abilities, trippy visions of the Avengers, and the mantle of Ms. Marvel. Bonus points for including a very practical fanny pack in the homemade costume.
<b>Why It Won 2014:</b> Kamala Khan is the type of girl you wished you were in high school and the kind of person you're still hoping you'll grow to be as an adult. Also WOLVERINE SELFIE OMFG.nonadult<b>What It's About:</b> After Robbie Reyes dies in an illegal street race he needs to win to care for his little brother with special needs, Reyes gets a second chance at life. The new Ghost Rider's going to need every advantage he can get as he goes up against Dr. Zabo, Mr. Hyde, and a local gang that's responsible for moving some seriously monstrous drugs.
<b>Why It Won 2014:</b> This book is definitely about the high octane and stunningly illustrated adventures of a teenage superhero, but the real star of this story is Robbie's love for his brother. And on the chilling flip side, the real struggle of the story is the immense challenge of being poor and brown in America.nonadult<b>What It’s About:</b> Jennifer Walters juggles the pressures of being an attorney and being an Avenger, but the two sometimes blur together when She-Hulk does whatever’s necessary to defend her clients.
<b>Why It Won 2014:</b> The pure and simple joy you'll get from watching Jennifer Walters be confident, enterprising, and brilliant, as She-Hulk is a cheeky and compelling look into what makes a hero super.nonadult<b>What It's About:</b> Five lovely ladies at camp who basically use the power of friendship to defeat supernatural creatures and have the best summer ever.
<b>Why It Won 2014:</b> Because girl power is real, and it feels amazing to revel in strong female friendships that are sincerely supportive and loving. Ban frenemies 2k15.nonadult<b>What It's About:</b> Behind the scenes of Gotham's premiere prep school where the only thing weirder and more mysterious than the school itself are its students.
<b>Why It Won 2014:</b> A much needed breath of fresh air in DC's New 52, <i>Gotham Academy</i> isn't afraid of having fun, and perfectly balances all those wild teenage emotions with characters that are self-aware enough to learn to grow from their mistakes.nonadult<b>What It's About:</b> A psychedelic genderbent retelling of <i>The Odyssey</i> set in the vast reaches of space.
<b>Why It Won 2014:</b> Much like <i>Bitch Planet</i>, the first issue just debuted a month ago, but it already feels like it'll be the biggest adventure of 2015. Between the rich, vibrant space vistas and wonderfully lyrical prose, <i>ODY-C</i> promises the grandeur and ambition of this classic adventure framed around the types of people and problems that would have kept you from Sparknote-ing the long, dense novel in high school.nonadultEverything You Ever Wanted To Know About Nicolas Cagehttps://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewilnyckyj/all-of-the-most-important-nicolas-cage-facts
Did you know he has his own pyramid?

Greatest. Actor. Ever.

]]>Andrew Ilnyckyjhttps://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewilnyckyj/all-of-the-most-important-nicolas-cage-factsFri, 28 Feb 2014 13:11:19 -0500<b>Did you know he has his own pyramid?</b>andrewilnyckyjnonadultnonadultnonadult17 Ancient Websites That Still Work Lead The Daily Linkshttps://www.buzzfeed.com/moerder/daily-links-11-22-2013
Plus 8 horrifying texts from online dates, Sony patents the “smart wig,” and five superhero movies that need to be made ASAP.

]]>Adam Moerderhttps://www.buzzfeed.com/moerder/daily-links-11-22-2013Fri, 22 Nov 2013 16:04:27 -0500<b>Plus 8 horrifying texts from online dates, Sony patents the "smart wig," and five superhero movies that need to be made ASAP.</b>moerdernonadultWho Is The Most Successful Box-Office Superhero?https://www.buzzfeed.com/adambvary/superhero-box-office-ranking
Thor: The Dark World opened with the best debut weekend for a Marvel Studios movie that doesn’t feature Iron Man — but how does it stack up at the box office to all other cinematic superheroes?

Photo Illustration by Justine Zwiebel for BuzzFeed

We live in an age of maximum superheroics. Costume-clad comic book champions are dominating the multiplex now with a constancy and — more often than not — success rate never before seen in Hollywood. Case in point: Thor: The Dark World just opened in the U.S. with an estimated $86.1 million weekend, a 31% increase from the first Thor's debut in 2011. Even more impressive: In two weeks, the film has already pulled in an estimated $240.9 million overseas, which is nearly 90% of the total international gross for the first Thor. With no major competition next weekend, Thor: The Dark World should easily join Man of Steel and Iron Man 3 as one of the top 10 grossing films of this year. Next year, Captain America, Spider-Man, the X-Men, and the Guardians of the Galaxy will vie for the box office crown, and in 2015, the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, Batman and Superman, and Ant-Man will do the same.

With so many superheroes competing for our eyeballs at the movie theater, it is worth taking stock of which heroes have most proven their box office mettle. Using figures from Box Office Mojo, BuzzFeed has crunched the numbers to come up with as objective a breakdown as possible for the most, and least, successful superheroes of the last 35 years.

Before we get to the list, however, a few words on our methodology — this gets pretty deep-dish nerdy, so feel free to skip ahead to the rankings if you prefer.

To be considered, a character had to be a classically defined superhero initially derived from a comic book or graphic novel — so Harry Potter and Katniss Everdeen, superheroic though they may be, don't count. They also had to be the leading characters in their own film with their name in the title, meaning that Marvel Studios stars Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Loki can't be considered. And that film also had to be released in the United States, which kept curiosities like 1990's Captain America — which went straight to video in the U.S. — from factoring into Cap's overall box office numbers.

As for the numbers themselves, we took into account five different metrics:

First, the total number of films the character starred in — studios generally won't make a sequel unless there is some money to be made.

Next, both the average total domestic box office for those films, and the average opening domestic box office, both adjusted for inflation. (For movies that opened during a long holiday week and weekend, like 2004's Spider-Man 2, we only included the first three days of release as the fairest point of comparison with other films.) Why separate opening weekend from the total gross? Studios can take home as much as 90% of the opening weekend gross for a major blockbuster film, ceding more of the box office to exhibitors as the weeks progress — so both figures matter in different ways.

Then we included a figure called the average domestic box office multiplier. The number reflects how many times over a movie increased its debut numbers — the higher that number, the better the word-of-mouth and repeat business for a film. (For example, a movie that opens with $20 million and goes on to gross $200 million would have a multiplier of 10.)

And finally, we included the average global total gross for each character. In the last 10 years, global figures have become Hollywood's top barometer for overall success, so we felt it was necessary to use the global figures in our final analysis. But since there is no reliable way to track ticket price inflation across the entire planet, we reflected the fact that the numbers are not adjusted for inflation in our final calculation.

Which brings us to the final weighted rating. We weighted each metric (from 0-1) according to how that hero faired in comparison to all the other heroes (i.e., for number of movies, those with the most movies got a 1, the least got 0, and everyone else fell in between proportionally). We then added all those figures together, weighting the average global total gross less than all the other figures, and used the final number to rank all the characters.

One last note on The Avengers: Figuring out how to include the third-highest-grossing movie of all time in the overall numbers for Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and Hulk proved to be no easy task. The movie was a true ensemble film, and it did so astronomically well in comparison to every other Marvel Studios film that to treat it as a starring vehicle for the characters was unfairly skewing their numbers — but not including The Avengers at all also wasn't fair. So using screen-time figures derived by Vulture, we created weighted averages for all four characters. It's not perfect, but it's as close to an objective measure of the film's box office impact for those characters as we could get.

Catwoman

Final weighted rating: 0.30

Halle Berry famously accepted a Razzie award for worst actress for this movie — which has nothing to do with the Batman franchise, so Anne Hathaway and Michelle Pfeiffer's incarnations of the character don't factor in here.

]]>Adam B. Varyhttps://www.buzzfeed.com/adambvary/superhero-box-office-rankingSun, 10 Nov 2013 14:45:05 -0500<b><i>Thor: The Dark World</i> opened with the best debut weekend for a Marvel Studios movie that doesn&#39;t feature Iron Man &mdash; but how does it stack up at the box office to all other cinematic superheroes?</b>adambvarynonadultnonadultWe live in an age of maximum superheroics. Costume-clad comic book champions are dominating the multiplex now with a constancy and &mdash; more often than not &mdash; success rate never before seen in Hollywood. Case in point: <i>Thor: The Dark World</i> just opened in the U.S. with an estimated $86.1 million weekend, a 31% increase from the first <i>Thor</i>'s debut in 2011. Even more impressive: In two weeks, the film has already pulled in an estimated $240.9 million overseas, which is nearly 90% of the <i>total</i> international gross for the first <i>Thor</i>. With no major competition next weekend, <i>Thor: The Dark World</i> should easily join <i>Man of Steel</i> and <i>Iron Man 3</i> as one of the top 10 grossing films of this year. Next year, Captain America, Spider-Man, the X-Men, and the Guardians of the Galaxy will vie for the box office crown, and in 2015, the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, Batman and Superman, and Ant-Man will do the same.
With so many superheroes competing for our eyeballs at the movie theater, it is worth taking stock of which heroes have most proven their box office mettle. Using figures from Box Office Mojo, BuzzFeed has crunched the numbers to come up with as objective a breakdown as possible for the most, and least, successful superheroes of the last 35 years.
Before we get to the list, however, a few words on our methodology &mdash; this gets pretty deep-dish nerdy, so feel free to skip ahead to the rankings if you prefer.
To be considered, a character had to be a classically defined superhero initially derived from a comic book or graphic novel &mdash; so Harry Potter and Katniss Everdeen, superheroic though they may be, don&#39;t count. They also had to be the leading characters in their own film with their name in the title, meaning that Marvel Studios stars Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Loki can&#39;t be considered. And that film also had to be released in the United States, which kept curiosities like 1990&#39;s <i>Captain America</i> &mdash; which went straight to video in the U.S. &mdash; from factoring into Cap&#39;s overall box office numbers.
As for the numbers themselves, we took into account five different metrics:
First, <b>the total number of films the character starred in</b> &mdash; studios generally won&#39;t make a sequel unless there is <i>some</i> money to be made.
Next, both <b>the average total domestic box office</b> for those films, and <b>the average opening domestic box office</b>, both adjusted for inflation. (For movies that opened during a long holiday week and weekend, like 2004&#39;s <i>Spider-Man 2</i>, we only included the first three days of release as the fairest point of comparison with other films.) Why separate opening weekend from the total gross? Studios can take home as much as 90% of the opening weekend gross for a major blockbuster film, ceding more of the box office to exhibitors as the weeks progress &mdash; so both figures matter in different ways.
Then we included a figure called <b>the average domestic box office multiplier</b>. The number reflects how many times over a movie increased its debut numbers &mdash; the higher that number, the better the word-of-mouth and repeat business for a film. (For example, a movie that opens with $20 million and goes on to gross $200 million would have a multiplier of 10.)
And finally, we included <b>the average global total gross</b> for each character. In the last 10 years, global figures have become Hollywood&#39;s top barometer for overall success, so we felt it was necessary to use the global figures in our final analysis. But since there is no reliable way to track ticket price inflation across the entire planet, we reflected the fact that the numbers are not adjusted for inflation in our final calculation.
Which brings us to <b>the final weighted rating</b>. We weighted each metric (from 0-1) according to how that hero faired in comparison to all the other heroes (i.e., for number of movies, those with the most movies got a 1, the least got 0, and everyone else fell in between proportionally). We then added all those figures together, weighting the average global total gross less than all the other figures, and used the final number to rank all the characters.
One last note on <i>The Avengers</i>: Figuring out how to include the third-highest-grossing movie of all time in the overall numbers for Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and Hulk proved to be no easy task. The movie was a true ensemble film, and it did so astronomically well in comparison to every other Marvel Studios film that to treat it as a starring vehicle for the characters was unfairly skewing their numbers &mdash; but <i>not</i> including <i>The Avengers</i> at all also wasn&#39;t fair. So using screen-time figures <a href="http://www.vulture.com/2012/05/how-much-screen-time-does-each-avenger-get.html">derived by <i>Vulture</i></a>, we created weighted averages for all four characters. It&#39;s not perfect, but it&#39;s as close to an objective measure of the film&#39;s box office impact for those characters as we could get.nonadult<b>Final weighted rating:</b> 0.27
An out-and-out vigilante with no compunction about killing, it&#39;s probably no surprise that this character comes in dead last. What <i>is</i> perhaps surprising is that the Punisher even warranted a second film, with Ray Stevenson replacing Thomas Jane as titular anti-hero Frank Castle. Grossing just $10.1 million worldwide, it is by far the worst box office for a superhero character on this list. Marvel must have felt bad for Stevenson, though &mdash; they cast him as Thor&#39;s trusty Asgardian warrior Volstagg.
<b>Films</b>: <i>Punisher: War Zone</i> (2008), <i>The Punisher</i> (2004)
<b>Average domestic total gross (adjusted):</b> $26,427,250
<b>Average domestic opening weekend gross (adjusted):</b> $11,361,300
<b>Average domestic multiplier:</b> 2.326
<b>Average global total gross (unadjusted):</b> $32,400,071nonadult<b>Final weighted rating:</b> 0.30
Halle Berry <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-7s_yeQuDg">famously accepted</a> a Razzie award for worst actress for this movie &mdash; which has nothing to do with the Batman franchise, so Anne Hathaway and Michelle Pfeiffer&#39;s incarnations of the character don&#39;t factor in here.
<b>Film</b>: <i>Catwoman</i> (2004)
<b>Total domestic gross (adjusted):</b> $52,114,200
<b>Opening domestic weekend gross (adjusted):</b> $21,685,000
<b>Average domestic multiplier:</b> 2.403
<b>Average global total gross (unadjusted):</b> $82,102,379nonadult<b>Final weighted rating:</b> 0.36
The first <i>Kick-Ass</i> packed in enough subversive thrills to push its global gross near $100 million &mdash; and convince Universal Pictures, which distributed the first film overseas, to green-light a sequel. Bad call: The second film tanked with critics, fans, and audiences, pulling in just over half the first film&#39;s numbers.
<b>Films</b>: <i>Kick-Ass 2</i> (2013), <i>Kick-Ass</i> (2010)
<b>Average domestic total gross (adjusted):</b> $38,735,993
<b>Average domestic opening weekend gross (adjusted):</b> $16,794,728
<b>Average domestic multiplier:</b> 2.306
<b>Average global total gross (unadjusted):</b> $77,872,504nonadult<b>Final weighted rating:</b> 0.65
This one stings the most. The sequel may have pulled in more than the first, but this is a low-scoring franchise across all the metrics, no matter how passionate its fans may feel about the adorable red reformed demon.
<b>Films</b>: <i>Hellboy II: The Golden Army</i> (2008), <i>Hellboy</i> (2004)
<b>Average domestic total gross (adjusted):</b> $81,242,050
<b>Average domestic opening weekend gross (adjusted):</b> $34,381,250
<b>Average domestic multiplier:</b> 2.363
<b>Average global total gross (unadjusted):</b> $129,853,525nonadult<b>Final weighted rating:</b> 0.66
This is maybe cheating, but since <i>Elektra</i> was an unabashed <i>Daredevil</i> spin-off &mdash; and the former&#39;s utter box office failure was likely exacerbated by the latter&#39;s piss-poor reputation with fans &mdash; it made sense to keep these two crazy kids together. At least these movies spawned one of Hollywood&#39;s more stable couples.
<b>Films</b>: <i>Elektra</i> (2005), <i>Daredevil</i> (2003)
<b>Average domestic total gross (adjusted):</b> $83,774,900
<b>Average domestic opening weekend gross (adjusted):</b> $34,947,500
<b>Average domestic multiplier:</b> 2.397
<b>Average global total gross (unadjusted):</b> $117,930,642nonadult<b>Final weighted rating:</b> 0.69
The fact that anyone managed to adapt Alan Moore&#39;s seminal deconstruction of comic book superheroes for the big screen is a feat unto itself. Unfortunately, this movie only seemed to resonate with the hardcore faithful &mdash; the Watchmen have the lowest multiplier of anyone on this list.
<b>Film</b>: <i>Watchmen</i> (2009)
<b>Total domestic gross (adjusted):</b> $120,536,700
<b>Opening domestic weekend gross (adjusted):</b> $59,581,200
<b>Average domestic multiplier:</b> 2.023
<b>Average global total gross (unadjusted):</b> $185,258,983nonadult<b>Final weighted rating:</b> 0.71
With a reported $200 million budget, Warner Bros.&#39; failed attempt to make a DC Comics superhero movie not starring Batman or Superman is likely the biggest box office belly flop on this countdown. (That multiplier is especially pathetic.) But Hal Jordan&#39;s first cinematic foray still made enough money to rate higher than characters who starred in better films, probably on the strength of Ryan Reynolds&#39; abs alone. And with Warner Bros. still determined to make a Justice League movie work, this is probably not the last we&#39;ll see of this character, either.
<b>Film</b>: <i>Green Lantern</i> (2011)
<b>Total domestic gross (adjusted):</b> $116,601,172
<b>Opening domestic weekend gross (adjusted):</b> $53,174,303
<b>Average domestic multiplier:</b> 2.193
<b>Average global total gross (unadjusted):</b> $219,851,172nonadult<b>Final weighted rating:</b> 0.77
The first major surprise on this list. The 2012 sequel was a junky bomb, but Nicolas Cage&#39;s first outing as the Devil&#39;s bounty hunter was a true (if modest) success, pulling in more in the U.S. and worldwide than <i>Green Lantern</i>.
<b>Films</b>: <i>Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance</i> (2012), <i>Ghost Rider</i> (2007)
<b>Average domestic total gross (adjusted):</b> $93,634,901
<b>Average domestic opening weekend gross (adjusted):</b> $37,611,467
<b>Average domestic multiplier:</b> 2.490
<b>Average global total gross (unadjusted):</b> $180,651,162nonadult<b>Final weighted rating:</b> 1.11
He&#39;s one of the most senior superheroes on this list &mdash; Wesley Snipes&#39; first outing as the titular half-human-half-vampire came out during the Clinton administration, and the last film in the series is nearly a decade old. But the character has an outstanding multiplier, and the franchise is responsible for jumpstarting <i>Blade II</i> director Guillermo Del Toro&#39;s career in Hollywood, and proving to the world that heretofore comedic actor Ryan Reynolds did, in fact, <a href="http://image.toutlecine.com/photos/b/l/a/blade-trinity-2004-100-g.jpg">have action hero abs</a>.
<b>Films</b>: <i>Blade: Trinity</i> (2004), <i>Blade II</i> (2002), <i>Blade</i> (1998)
<b>Average domestic total gross (adjusted):</b> $100,680,567
<b>Average domestic opening weekend gross (adjusted):</b> $31,731,667
<b>Average domestic multiplier:</b> 3.173
<b>Average global total gross (unadjusted):</b> $138,366,309nonadult<b>Final weighted rating:</b> 1.30
Neither a runaway success nor anything close to a failure. Let&#39;s just hope that the upcoming reboot from <i>Chronicle</i> director Josh Trank finds pants for the Thing that don&#39;t make us want to hide under the seat.
<b>Films</b>: <i>Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer</i> (2007), <i>Fantastic Four</i> (2005)
<b>Average domestic total gross (adjusted):</b> $174,315,600
<b>Average domestic opening weekend gross (adjusted):</b> $69,164,350
<b>Average domestic multiplier:</b> 2.520
<b>Average global total gross (unadjusted):</b> $309,813,741nonadult<b>Final weighted rating:</b> 1.55
Neither film that bears Hulk&#39;s name did the character justice &mdash; nor were they anything close to box office bonanzas. Which is probably why Marvel Studios has been trigger shy on another Hulk film, even though Joss Whedon and Mark Ruffalo finally seemed to crack the big green guy&#39;s code in <i>The Avengers</i>.
<b>Films</b>: <i>The Avengers</i> (2012), <i>The Incredible Hulk</i> (2008), <i>Hulk</i> (2003)
<b>Average domestic total gross (adjusted and weighted):</b> $207,655,097
<b>Average domestic opening weekend gross (adjusted and weighted):</b> $85,408,895
<b>Average domestic multiplier:</b> 2.431
<b>Average global total gross (unadjusted and weighted):</b> $375,039,148nonadult<b>Final weighted rating:</b> 1.94
With only two films to his name &mdash; well, based on our weighting system, really it&#39;s one film and 28.4% of <i>The Avengers</i> &mdash; Captain America still has a lot of potential to grow into a true box office heavyweight. Next year&#39;s <i>Captain America: The Winter Soldier</i> is looking like it could be the film to take him there.
<b>Films</b>: <i>The Avengers</i> (2012), <i>Captain America: The First Avenger</i> (2011)
<b>Average domestic total gross (adjusted and weighted):</b> $275,349,648
<b>Average domestic opening weekend gross (adjusted and weighted):</b> $96,516,159
<b>Average domestic multiplier:</b> 2.853
<b>Average global total gross (unadjusted and weighted):</b> $624,215,714nonadult<b>Final weighted rating:</b> 1.96
Thor just squeaks past Cap largely because he has one more movie to his name. And Thor better hope his brother Loki never gets his own film, or he&#39;s likely box office toast.
<b>Films</b>: <i>Thor: The Dark World</i> (2013), <i>The Avengers</i> (2012), <i>Thor</i> (2011)
<b>Average domestic total gross (adjusted and weighted):</b> $253,085,613
<b>Average domestic opening weekend gross (adjusted and weighted):</b> $87,578,561
<b>Average domestic multiplier:</b> 2.850
<b>Average global total gross (unadjusted and weighted):</b> $623,510,119nonadult<b>Final weighted rating:</b> 2.03
Bryan Singer&#39;s original 2000 film ushered in the modern age of superhero movies, but the most recent prequel outing with James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender came in considerably lower than the previous three X-Men movies. As it happens, Singer is returning to the franchise with next summer&#39;s <i>X-Men: Days of Future Past</i>, featuring all the old X-Men <i>and</i> the new X-Men together in the same movie. But will that translate into double the box office grosses?
<b>Films</b>: <i>X-Men: First Class</i> (2011), <i>X-Men: The Last Stand</i> (2006), <i>X2: X-Men United</i> (2003), <i>X-Men</i> (2000)
<b>Average domestic total gross (adjusted):</b> $239,081,476
<b>Average domestic opening weekend gross (adjusted):</b> $94,239,176
<b>Average domestic multiplier:</b> 2.537
<b>Average global total gross (unadjusted):</b> $379,258,689nonadult<b>Final weighted rating:</b> 2.13
Already the outright male lead in the X-Men movies, Wolverine struck out on his own in two solo projects with tellingly different results: The much-maligned <i>X-Men Origins: Wolverine</i> did far better in the U.S. than last summer&#39;s <i>The Wolverine</i>, but the latter performed much better overseas thanks in large part to its Japanese setting. In any event, Wolverine&#39;s box office prowess overall pulls him ahead of his mutant brethren.
<b>Films</b>: <i>The Wolverine</i> (2013), <i>X-Men Origins: Wolverine</i> (2009), <i>X-Men: The Last Stand</i> (2006), <i>X2: X-Men United</i> (2003), <i>X-Men</i> (2000)
<b>Average domestic total gross (adjusted):</b> $227,276,902
<b>Average domestic opening weekend gross (adjusted):</b> $93,350,790
<b>Average domestic multiplier:</b> 2.435
<b>Average global total gross (unadjusted):</b> $390,006,121nonadult<b>Final weighted rating:</b> 2.93
The original cinematic superhero, Superman harkens back to a bygone era of moviegoing radically different from today&#39;s multiplex economy. In the 1970s and &#39;80s, films often played in theaters for <i>years</i> &mdash; the most popular films even enjoyed regular revival runs &mdash; which is why Superman&#39;s multiplier is so much bigger than every other hero on this list. But the Man of Steel&#39;s longevity also means his global average is likely much lower than it rightfully should be, one of the main reasons why that metric is weighted less than all the others.
<b>Films</b>: <i>Man of Steel</i> (2013), <i>Superman Returns</i> (2006), <i>Superman IV: The Quest for Peace</i> (1987), <i>Superman III</i> (1983), <i>Superman II</i> (1981), <i>Superman</i> (1978)
<b>Average domestic total gross (adjusted):</b> $249,573,820
<b>Average domestic opening weekend gross (adjusted):</b> $48,920,227
<b>Average domestic multiplier:</b> 5.102
<b>Average global total gross (unadjusted):</b> $451,381,576nonadult<b>Final weighted rating:</b> 2.98
Yup: Tony Stark is (just slightly) bigger than Clark Kent at the box office. Thanks to an unbroken string of blockbuster hits &mdash; and back-to-back billion-dollar global grossers &mdash; Iron Man has been vaulted from a second-string comic book hero to a true A-list character on par with the most iconic comic book characters of the last century. But with Robert Downey Jr. sitting out solo Iron Man films for the foreseeable future, it is unclear whether the character can maintain his high box office perch.
<b>Films</b>: <i>Iron Man 3</i> (2013), <i>The Avengers</i> (2012), <i>Iron Man 2</i> (2010), <i>Iron Man</i> (2008)
<b>Average domestic total gross (adjusted and weighted):</b> $383,091,588
<b>Average domestic opening weekend gross (adjusted and weighted):</b> $144,386,477
<b>Average domestic multiplier:</b> 2.653
<b>Average global total gross (unadjusted and weighted):</b> $868,530,190nonadult<b>Final weighted rating:</b> 3.26
With so many superhero movies arriving each year, it&#39;s perhaps easy to forget how largely Spider-Man loomed at the box office at the start of the last decade. In 2013 dollars, 2002&#39;s <i>Spider-Man</i> made a whopping $559.4 million in the U.S. &mdash; still one of the very best box office returns for a superhero ever. Last year&#39;s reboot with Andrew Garfield has more modest box office receipts to its name, but the buzz is good for next summer&#39;s <i>The Amazing Spider-Man 2</i>.
<b>Films</b>: <i>The Amazing Spider-Man</i> (2012), <i>Spider-Man 3</i> (2007), <i>Spider-Man 2</i> (2004), <i>Spider-Man</i> (2002)
<b>Average domestic total gross (adjusted):</b> $424,855,191
<b>Average domestic opening weekend gross (adjusted):</b> $134,079,043
<b>Average domestic multiplier:</b> 3.169
<b>Average global total gross (unadjusted):</b> $812,140,769nonadult<b>Final weighted rating:</b> 3.40
Try not to look surprised. No comic book superhero has had more cinematic outings than Batman, and so it follows that no comic book superhero has had better luck at the box office than him either. It helps that the caped crusader is unusually open to interpretation, allowing for everything from Tim Burton&#39;s florid and brooding Batman, to Joel Schumacher&#39;s cartoon-y and nipple-y Batman, to Christopher Nolan&#39;s gritty and naturalistic Batman. In 2015, we&#39;ll get Zack Snyder&#39;s version, with Ben Affleck putting on the cowl for what will reportedly be a more seasoned and grizzled take on the character. And chances are, we will show up in droves to see how it turns out.
<b>Films</b>: <i>The Dark Knight Rises</i> (2012), <i>The Dark Knight</i> (2008), <i>Batman Begins</i> (2005), <i>Batman and Robin</i> (1997), <i>Batman Forever</i> (1995), <i>Batman Returns</i> (1992), <i>Batman</i> (1989)
<b>Average domestic total gross (adjusted):</b> $379,330,900
<b>Average domestic opening weekend gross (adjusted):</b> $106,186,728
<b>Average domestic multiplier:</b> 3.572
<b>Average global total gross (unadjusted):</b> $530,874,823nonadultHere are the estimated top 10 box office figures for Friday to Sunday, courtesy of <a href="http://boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/">Box Office Mojo</a>:
1. <i>Thor: The Dark World*</i> &mdash; $86.1 million
2. <i>Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa</i> &mdash; $11.3 million
3. <i>Free Birds</i> &mdash; $11.2 million
4. <i>Last Vegas</i> &mdash; $11.1 million
5. <i>Ender's Game</i> &mdash; $10.3 million
6. <i>Gravity</i> &mdash; $8.4 million
7. <i>12 Years a Slave</i> &mdash; $6.6 million
8. <i>Captain Phillips</i> &mdash; $5.8 million
9. <i>About Time</i> &mdash; $5.2 million
10. <i>Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2</i> &mdash; $2.8 million
*Opening weekend
<small>Photo credits for top image, from left to right: Warner Bros.; Columbia Pictures; Warner Bros.; Marvel Studios; Warner Bros.; Warner Bros.; 20th Century Fox; Universal Pictures; Marvel Studios; Warner Bros.; Warner Bros.</small>nonadultNic Cage Is Inspired By His Pet Cobrahttps://www.buzzfeed.com/schmidtm/nic-cage-is-inspired-by-cobras-puts-on-makeup-to
Everyone’s favorite nutcase talks about using his pet cobra as “Ghost Rider” inspiration. Look at Kelly Ripa’s face around 48 seconds in.

]]>jtposthttps://www.buzzfeed.com/jtpost/nicolas-cage-is-a-vampire-4d83Thu, 16 Feb 2012 07:49:23 -0500<b>This is the sort of top-notch journalism happening during Cage&#39;s press tour for "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance."</b> Top notch.jtpostnonadultNicolas Cage Meets Nicolas Cagehttps://www.buzzfeed.com/gavon/nicolas-cage-meets-nicolas-cage
And he does not appear to trust this Nicolas Cage character. Here’s human meme Nic Cage meeting his own wax figure in Paris. It’s like “Face/Off” if Nicolas Cage were playing both parts. And is he checking out his own ass? Yup.

U.S. actor Nicolas Cage (L) looks at his figure at the Grevin wax museum during the presentation of his waxwork in Paris January 29, 2012.

GONZALO FUENTES / Reuters

ALEXANDER KLEIN / Getty Images

GONZALO FUENTES / Reuters

]]>Gavon Laessighttps://www.buzzfeed.com/gavon/nicolas-cage-meets-nicolas-cageMon, 30 Jan 2012 18:16:31 -0500<b>And he does not appear to trust this Nicolas Cage character.</b> Here&#39;s human meme Nic Cage meeting his own wax figure in Paris. It&#39;s like "Face/Off" if Nicolas Cage were playing both parts. And is he checking out his own ass? Yup.gavonnonadult"Ghost Rider 2" / "He-Man" Mash-Uphttp://www.uproxx.com/webculture/2012/01/heres-the-ghost-rider-2he-man-mashup-absolutely-no-one-saw-coming/

Wait, why is Nic Cage not Skeletor? Come on guys, that was mash-up 101 right there.

]]>UPROXXhttp://www.uproxx.com/webculture/2012/01/heres-the-ghost-rider-2he-man-mashup-absolutely-no-one-saw-coming/Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:57:23 -0500<b>Wait, why is Nic Cage not Skeletor?</b> Come on guys, that was mash-up 101 right there.uproxxnonadultNerd Bikeshttps://www.buzzfeed.com/gavon/nerd-bikes
Artist and avid cyclist Mike Joos does an ongoing series of illustrations depicting various geek icons on their bikes. From Spider-Man to Dale Earnhardt, everyone loves a good bike ride. Yes, Dale Earnhardt is a geek icon. NASCAR fans are nerds.

]]>Gavon Laessighttps://www.buzzfeed.com/gavon/nerd-bikesThu, 10 Mar 2011 13:56:27 -0500<b>Artist and avid cyclist <a href="http://mikejoosart.blogspot.com/">Mike Joos</a> does an ongoing series of illustrations depicting various geek icons on their bikes.</b> From Spider-Man to Dale Earnhardt, everyone loves a good bike ride. Yes, Dale Earnhardt is a geek icon. NASCAR fans are nerds.gavonnonadultThe Evolution Of Ghostshttps://www.buzzfeed.com/gavon/the-evolution-of-ghosts
An educational chart detailing the evolution of spooks and specters in pop culture. Survival of the frightest? Nah.